It would be easy for Marianne Vos to play it safe, but she never does. Tuesday’s stage of the Giro Rosa was vintage Vos: She attacked after less than 10 kilometers of racing, rode a breakaway for much of the day, and crossed the finish line alone to take the stage victory.

Vos now leads the Giro by over a minute, and the upcoming stages feature more of the uphill terrain she likes best.

“After two second places in a row, I needed a stage victory! I didn't plan to make a long breakaway,” Vos said after the stage. “The final was very steep and with the cobbles it was even worse, I'm really happy to win in rosa. In the next days I hope to be with the best and increase my advantage in the general classification.”

“I was given the responsibility to descend with Vos and try to take the time sprint at the bottom,” said Hall. “Most women can't even stick to her wheel on a descent, and today was my first time trying. It was a success, but I wasn't able to outsprint her for the time bonus. She is an amazing rider.”

After 65 kilometers of racing, only Vos and Cromwell remained out in front. Then, Cromwell crashed on one of the stage’s many tricky descents. With ten kilometers left to race, it was all Vos all the time. Competitive to the end, Vos threw her bike across the line in a sprint against her shadow.

Though Vos won Tuesday’s stage in dominating style, two climbers are not far behind her and could make her life difficult on the Giro’s two mountaintop finishes later this week. Tibco’s Claudia Häusler outsprinted Tatiana Guderzo (MCipollini-Giordana) to take second on the stage, and the German now sits second overall at 1:13. Guderzo is third at 1:15.

Evelyn Stevens (Specialized-lululemon) was the highest-placed American at the end of Tuesday’s difficult stage. She finished seventh, 55 seconds behind Vos and is now seventh overall at 1:29. Former Giro winner Mara Abbott (US National Team) finished ninth, and is ninth overall at 1:32.

It was a rough day for US national team climber Janel Holcomb, who finished solo more than 20 minutes down. Holcomb was dropped early in the stage, and never made it back to the field.

“As a climber, and a decent one at that, there can't be anything much worse in a race than seeing the peloton, more than 80 women perhaps, climb away from you on a beautiful climbing stage,” Holcomb said. “Not to be there when your team needs you, expects you, is painful. All you can do is shake it off, get in your recovery, maybe have an ice cream, and then live to fight another stage.”

Wednesday, the riders face the longest stage of this year’s Giro Rosa. It runs 137 kilometers from San Vito to Castelfidardo. While long, the stage is mostly flat, although there is a short climb to the finish line. It’s hard to look past Vos, but there is always the potential for surprises in bike racing.

All day and it was just myself and @marianne_vos left at the front. That's bike racing, gotta push your limits. Congrats to Vos on the win.